HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Duiker, S. W. Articles by Johnson, D. H. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Duiker, S. W. Articles by Johnson, D. H. Agricola Articles by Duiker, S. W. Articles by Johnson, D. H. Related Collections Best Management Practices Residue management Other Soil Management Tillage

Production Papers

Tillage x Maize Hybrid Interactions

^a Dep. of Crop and Soil Sciences, Pennsylvania State Univ., 116 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802-3504
^b The Monsanto Company, 269 Pine View Lane, York, PA 17403
^c Pennsylvania State Univ. Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 1446 Auction Road, Manheim, PA 17545

^* Corresponding author (swd10{at}psu.edu)

Received for publication March 2, 2005. Continuous maize (Zea mays L.) yields may be depressed with no-tillage (NT) compared with conventional chisel and disking systems (CD). Shallow or deep in-row tillage (ST and DT, respectively) may help alleviate this yield reduction, whereas some hybrids may be better adapted to NT. We therefore evaluated five maize hybrids with NT, ST, DT, and CD from 2002 to 2004 on a Hagerstown silt loam (fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludalf) in southeastern Pennsylvania. Residue cover, penetration resistance, bulk density, and soil temperature were measured as well as maize emergence, mid-season height, and yield. Residue cover varied in the order NT > ST and DT > CD. Bulk density and penetration resistance in NT were higher than in ST, DT, and CD to the depth of tillage. In 2002, the average soil temperature during the first month after planting varied in the order NT < ST and DT < CD, but did not vary between tillage systems in 2004. Emergence was slower in NT than the other tillage systems in 2002 only. Emergence varied between hybrids, but there was no tillage x hybrid interaction. Mid-season maize height was not lower in NT than the other tillage systems. Tillage systems did not affect yield, and there was no tillage x hybrid interaction for yield, although some hybrids yielded better than others. The study suggests continuous maize yields with NT will be similar to tilled systems on well-drained soils in the northeastern USA and that tillage system is not important for hybrid selection.

Abbreviations: CD, chisel and disk tillage • DT, deep in-row tillage • NT, no-tillage • ST, shallow in-row tillage